33. RETREAT

33. RETREAT

This is a time when unsympathetic forces
make their untimely appearances.

This retreat is not a matter of will
but a matter of pragmatic... Withdrawal.

Retreat is what this reading endorses
in order not to exhaust one's forces.

Retreat, to refuge, is a natural expediency.
Success is achieved if executed properly.

Retreat is not to be confused with rout.
The latter implies, "At all cost... Get out!".

Retreat is a sign of corrective ability.
Flee not when you're still in authority.

It is only then that you can interpret
the signs in time for orderly retreat.

Do not be reduced to desperation
by abandoning the field to opposition.

You can prepare counter movements
preparing refuge with improvements.

It's subjective involvement, there's no debate,
if one indulges oneself to ones object of hate.

The superior keeps inferiors at a distance,
not with hostility... but with reticence.

You'll know when God has forgiven you
when you can forgive those who injure you.